The independent outlet posted a video of Keith Andrews, a farmer from Cornwall, elaborating on this particular scheme. According to him, farmers have been offered £2,500 ($3,222) for the next three years if they don't grow crops for food during that period.
"I'm going to plow a field, I'm going to put spring barley in. I'm going to get £440 ($567.07) off the government per acre. Then when it comes to crop size, leave it to rot in the ground. So, I don't get [any] straw for the cattle, you don't get [anything] for your bread, for everything we make," said Andrews.
Andrews disclosed that his accountant is encouraging him to sign up to the program so he could avoid buying fertilizer. From a mere £250 ($322.13) a ton, the price of fertilizer has risen to £1,000 ($1,288.50) a ton since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out.
"In order to fertilize your food, I've got to buy fertilizer at £1,000 ($1,288.50) a ton. So I've now got a crop that I don't have to spray. I don't have to send [anybody] out there with a tractor. I don't have to fertilize it, [and] I can just leave it in the ground to rot."
The Expose was unable to establish details as to when Andrews gave his speech. However, the program he pertained to has been in place for a couple of years. It has been expanded and the incentives increased over time.
This program called the Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI) was launched by the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in 2022. It incentivizes farmers to plant hedgerows instead of crops, and is open to all farmers and occupiers with management control.
SFI only promotes FOOD INSECURITY
"There's no minimum or maximum land area or hedgerow length, so farmers can choose how much land to cover with their SFI agreement," said Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries Mark Spencer. (Related: British government offering farmers "lump sum" payments to stop growing food, sell their land.)
In September 2023, DEFRA posted a blog that ostensibly defended the SFI. "Through SFI, our aim is to support farming and farmers. We want to protect and improve the environment, food production and food security," the blog post said.
In reality, the SFI is only promoting food insecurity under the guise of fighting "climate change" and achieving "net zero" goals. Instead of planting much-needed food crops to solve the food supply issue, farmers are incentivized to indefinitely leave their fallow lands untouched.
"Farmers, and the public at large, don’t need to be told that the primary purpose of farming is food production," the Expose added. A rational government, it continued, "would have implemented policies to support farmers to grow more food, not less."
It was only in May 2024 that Downing Street realized its mistake. The scheme proved so popular to struggling farmers that the British government was forced to issue a crackdown, warning that growers could only take 25 percent of their land out of direct food production for environmental projects.
Even Spencer was forced to backpedal over the SFI, noting that it "was always intended to be implemented on smaller areas on land." He continued: "Food production is the primary purpose of farming and we are taking action to clarify this principle."
Andrews isn't the only one who was warned against the SFI. Former "Top Gear" host Jeremy Clarkson issued a similar warning in an op-ed on the Sunday Times.
"I have signed up to the government's eco-friendly grant scheme, and will be planting things that aren't food in three fields. They're good for the soil and they're good for my bank balance. But it means I'm not growing stuff people can eat," he wrote.
"I know one chap who has taken 60 percent of his farm out of food production, and he's not alone. But what if you want some bread? You'll have to get a loaf made from wheat that was grown abroad. And how's that good for global warming?"
Visit FoodCollapse.com for similar stories.
Watch this clip of British farmers protesting against the climate agenda.
This video is from the Fritjof Persson channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
John Kerry says farmers need to stop growing food in order to achieve "net zero" climate goals.
World Bank launches plan to decimate global farming under excuse of cutting carbon emissions.
UK farms left with tons of unpicked food thanks to Brexit-related seasonal visa processing issues.
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